How do I use WPF bindings with RelativeSource?

How do I use RelativeSource with WPF bindings and what are the different use-cases?


If you want to bind to another property on the object:

{Binding Path=PathToProperty, RelativeSource={RelativeSource Self}}

If you want to get a property on an ancestor:

{Binding Path=PathToProperty,
    RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType={x:Type typeOfAncestor}}}

If you want to get a property on the templated parent (so you can do 2 way bindings in a ControlTemplate)

{Binding Path=PathToProperty, RelativeSource={RelativeSource TemplatedParent}}

or, shorter (this only works for OneWay bindings):

{TemplateBinding Path=PathToProperty}

Binding RelativeSource={
    RelativeSource Mode=FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type ItemType}
}
...

The default attribute of RelativeSource is the Mode property. A complete set of valid values is given here (from MSDN):

  • PreviousData Allows you to bind the previous data item (not that control that contains the data item) in the list of data items being displayed.

  • TemplatedParent Refers to the element to which the template (in which the data-bound element exists) is applied. This is similar to setting a TemplateBindingExtension and is only applicable if the Binding is within a template.

  • Self Refers to the element on which you are setting the binding and allows you to bind one property of that element to another property on the same element.

  • FindAncestor Refers to the ancestor in the parent chain of the data-bound element. You can use this to bind to an ancestor of a specific type or its subclasses. This is the mode you use if you want to specify AncestorType and/or AncestorLevel.


Here's a more visual explanation in the context of a MVVM architecture:

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